Thank you for the question, Mr. Tan.
To start, I think I would say that the government clearly places the absolute highest priority on public safety and security and environmental protection in all its nuclear activities. That is a key motivating force for us in how we approach the management of the sector, supported both by the nuclear laboratories in their research activities, as well as by our independent regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
Specifically in respect of the restructuring of AECL, I can take you through the logic of that. The decision to restructure AECL was taken following a review undertaken by the federal government and completed in 2009. That review concluded that AECL should be restructured to allow Canada to fully compete in a global nuclear market and so the Chalk River Laboratories could benefit from an alternative management model that was offered by the government-owned, contractor-operated system. That was following the models that have been applied successfully in the U.S., particularly in its Department of Energy labs, as well as in the U.K.
AECL was restructured in two phases to address that challenge.
First, the reactor division was sold to Candu Energy Inc., a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin. The idea here was to control costs to government related to the activities of that reactor division—so it allowed the private sector to manage those risks—while also maximizing the return on the government's investments in nuclear energy through the royalty structure that is in place.
The second phase focused on implementing a government-owned, contractor-operated model at the nuclear lab itself. There, what was done was to launch a procurement exercise that selected a private sector contractor to take responsibility for the management and operation of those laboratories. Again, the idea there was to develop and implement a highly incentivized contractor that would drive performance of the nuclear laboratories across its missions: to improve and revitalize its scientific mission to provide more focus on the needs of the industry and have a more outward look at what was required to advance the sector at an international level on a long-term basis, and also to manage the significant historic and legacy waste liabilities that are owned by the Government of Canada and ensure that those liabilities were being tackled effectively and efficiently.
We have an ongoing relationship with the government-owned, contractor-operated model at the labs. That is achieved through Atomic Energy of Canada Limited itself, which is now restructured as a small crown corporation of roughly 50 people. You'll be talking to them later this week, I think, and can ask more questions there. Effectively, AECL's role is to be the smart buyer for Canada of the services of the contractor at the labs. The intent there is that they provide oversight to that contract and ensure that work both in respect of S and T and in respect of waste management is being undertaken effectively and that the targets set out in the contract are effectively met by the contractors.
There's a very active management of that work to ensure that we continue to have a sound and renewed R and D enterprise for nuclear in Canada and that our long-term waste liabilities are managed effectively and reduced.